17 Themed Submission Calls for January 2019

These markets accept themed submissions for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and audio drama. Some of the themes are voyages, grumpy old gods, work matters, Christian-themed speculative fiction, hidden histories, solarpunk winters, birth, future sex, epistolary horror, celebrating science, shifter stories, and animal-themed apocalypse. All of these pay writers, from token to pro rates. Also see this list of themed submission calls – some deadlines are coming up.

Grumpy Old Gods AnthologyThe editor wants speculative fiction stories about gods. Their guidelines say, “We invite you to re-imagine old myths, mine your local retirement home for things that tickle your fancy, and invite your Muse to go wild. The only requirement is that the god or goddess in question (or whole pantheon if you so choose) must be retired, retiring, waning in power, or ignoring their responsibilities. Bonus points for good humor.” They want PG-13 to PG-17 stories.
Deadline: 13 January 2019
Length: 3,000-4,000 words
Pay: A portion of the profits
Details here.

Overland: Future SexThis Australian magazine is accepting submissions for their ‘Future sex’ issue. They want fiction for this online edition special call – “stories that engage with what our changing sexualities look like, both now and in the future.”
Deadline: 14 January 2019
Length: Up to 4,000 words
Pay: AUD150
Details here.

Slice: BirthThis literary magazine is currently open for submissions on the theme of Birth. They accept fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Deadline: 15 January 2019
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose
Pay: $250 for stories and essays, $75 for poems
Details here.

Prairie Fire: Work MattersThis literary magazine is currently open for submissions on the theme of Work Matters. Their guidelines say, “What is “great work” and how do we find it? Has it been difficult to get a foot in the door? Or, do you find that the world is changing so quickly that you don’t know where to find the door?

Have you joined the growing trend of people who have dropped traditional work and are creating work on their own terms? Perhaps you’ve left high paying, stressful job to answer a quest or calling. Or, are you pursuing an artistic passion?

How are you managing to balance your desire for meaningful, work that reflects your passions, gain more freedom, and still pay the bills?” They accept fiction, essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and will accept emailed submissions for this themed issue only.
Deadline: 18 January 2019
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose; send up to three poems or one story
Pay: CAD0.10/word, up to CAD250 for prose; CAD40/poem
Details here.

The School Magazine: Celebrate ScienceThis Australian literary publication has four magazines – Countdown, Blast Off, Orbit, and Touchdown – for children aged 7-11+. They publish stories, articles, plays, poems and activities that have literary and academic merit. All four magazines are accepting work on the theme of ‘Celebrate Science’, on any aspect of science. Deadline: 28 January 2019
Length: Up to 1,500 words for fiction and plays, 800-2,000 words for nonfiction
Pay: Unspecified fee upon publication; pays a repeat fee of one third if the piece is reused in a printed version of the magazine
Details here.

Atthis Arts: Five Minutes at Hotel StormcoveThey want stories across fiction genres for this anthology. Stories must meet two basic criteria: they must take place over a span of five minutes, and they must take place at a specific era, location, and time of day within the rooms or grounds of the Hotel Stormcove (which is generically located on the East Coast of North America, in a region with warm summers and cold winters). Writers need not adhere to a strict earth location or timeline – see the extensive guidelines, which can be downloaded in PDF format, for further details.
Deadline: 31 January 2019
Length: Up to 4,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.

Welcome to the Alpaca-lypseThey want animal-themed apocalypse stories for this anthology. Their guidelines say, “The apocalypse can be big or small (the larger scale the better), but it must include an animal as a major part of the story. The animal can be the cause of the apocalypse, the salvation from the apocalypse, or the pet that helps the one hero get through it all. It can even be from the animals point of view.” They want PG-13 (or lower) content only. This project had been delayed and they have opened it up again for submissions.
Deadline: 31 January 2019
Length: 2,000-7,000 words
Pay: $10
Details here.

Fiyah: HairThis is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes work by and about Black writers of the African Diaspora (see guidelines). During their January reading period, they want stories on the theme of Hair. They also accept poetry.
Deadline: 31 January 2019
Length: Up to 4 poems, 2,000-7,000 words for short fiction, up to 15,000 words for novelettes
Pay: $50 for poems, $150 for short fiction, $300 for novelettes
Details here.

Third Flatiron: Hidden HistoriesThis speculative fiction publisher wants stories on the theme of Hidden Histories for their next anthology. Their guidelines say, “A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. Your tale can be based in the real world, past, present, or future, as long as it has a speculative fiction element. We’re not exactly looking for alternate history, but there can be a fork in the road timewise.” See guidelines for details of the aesthetic. Flash humor (up to 1,000 words) can be on any theme.
Deadline: 31 January 2019
Length: 1,500-3,000 words (query for longer)
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.

The First LineFor this journal, they want a short story or poem beginning with a pre-set first line. To celebrate 20 years of the journal, they are inviting writers to select any one of the first lines from their previous journals (Volume 1, Issue 1 to Volume 5, Issue 4) – see guidelines. They also accept nonfiction.
Deadline: 1 February 2019
Length: 300-5,000 words
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $5-10 for poetry, $25 for nonfiction
Details here.

Lethe Press: Transcendent 4 – The Year’s Best Transgender FictionThey want transgender-themed fiction with elements of the strange, the weird, the fantastic, horror and science fiction for this reprint anthology. Their guidelines say, “Stories must be related to gender and/or sex minorities – transgender (all kinds of trans characters and themes, such as trans women / transfeminine characters, trans men / transmasculine characters, and more), genderqueer, nonbinary (both within transness and separately from it), gender non-conforming characters and/or themes, and so on.” All stories must have been originally published during the calendar year of 2018 (either in print or available in digital editions — self-published work and Patreon is also included).
Deadline: 15 February 2019
Length: Up to 15,000 words
Pay: $25-100
Details here.

Orbannin Books: Letters from the Grave – A Collection of Epistolary HorrorThey want epistolary horror for this anthology. Their guidelines say, “The epistolary form has a long, proud tradition in the horror genre. From the classics such as Frankenstein and Dracula, through modern classics like World War Z. We want to see your fresh takes on the idea. Remember that the epistolary genre doesn’t just include letters. It can be stories created from nearly any kinds or combinations of documents, i.e. crime scene reports, diary entries, interview transcripts, etc. This can include modern electronic and digital “documents” such as texts, voicemails, Tweets, blog posts, and more.” See guidelines for the tropes they will not accept.
Deadline: 28 February 2019
Length: 2,000-10,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

World Weaver Press: Glass & Gardens – Solarpunk WintersSolarpunk is a type of eco-conscious science fiction that imagines an optimistic future founded on renewable energies. They want solarpunk stories that take place in winter – stories should be planet-based (Earth or other), and optimistic.
Deadline: 1 March, 2019
Length: Up to 8,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.

The NoSleep Podcast: Horror storiesThey want horror stories for their podcast, written from a first-person perspective (though there are occasional exceptions). Stories should provide good audio cues and make good use of dialogue. They do not want narratives that solely rely on graphic gore or sexual violence. They also accept script formats written as an audio drama starring two or more characters, with more being preferred. Dramas should ideally last 20-40 minutes. Their flash fiction submissions are currently closed, and will open later in 2019.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Flash (up to 1,200 words), short fiction (1,200-2,500 words), regular submissions (at least 2,500 words)
Pay: $40 for flash, $100 for short fiction, $125 for regular submissions
Details here.

Lackington’s: VoyagesThey want speculative fiction on the theme of Voyages. Stories that experiment with prose and structure are especially welcome – they love works that incorporate elements from poetic or dramatic forms. Second-person POV narratives are a hard sell. They also commission artwork for stories.
Deadline: Open now (will announce on Twitter once they’re a week or two away from closing)
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: CAD0.01/word (CAD25 minimum)
Details here.

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